Morgan Cey allowed 4 goals on 31 shots in the loss. Randy Rowe had the only Chiefs goal off assists from Geoff Waugh and Dimitri Tarabrin. Johnstown's loss puts them three points behind Dayton for the final playoff spot in the North Division. And, with the Falcons recently calling up two of the team's scoring liners and now having their two highest scoring defensemen in Springfield, things look like the could get a little bleak.

Some context: entering this two game set in Wheeling the Nailers' head coach bombastically guaranteed that Wheeling would win both of these rivalry games and begin their climb out of the North Division basement. How'd that work out for him? Ahhhh, not so well.

Morgan Cey improved to 6-2 on the month by stopping 45 of 48 shots faced tonight. The Chiefs were led by Stanislav Lascek's 2 goals, including the critical overtime game winner. Lascek's point streak reaches 4 games after going 5 games without hitting the scoresheet. Lascek has 4 goals and 6 points with 6 penalty minutes and a +2 rating over that span with 19 shots on goal. Ben Wallace had 1 goal and 1 assist in the game while rookie Radek Smolenak had a pair of assists. Grant Jacobsen had the other Chiefs goal and Bryan Nathe, Ryan Gibbons, Randy Rowe, Gus Katsuras and Maxime Boisclair all had individual helpers.

The Chiefs appeared to have the game won with Wallace's goal coming with 40 seconds left in regulation but the Nailers responded 30 seconds later to force overtime. Nevertheless, the Nailers still found themselves 11 points behind Johnstown at the end of the night with their playoff chances on life support. Johnstown improves to 2 games over .500 and their win, coupled with a Dayton loss tonight, moves them back into a playoff spot in 5th place in the tightly compacted North Division. Johnstown is just 7 points back of 1st place Cincinnati and 4 points back of 3rd place Trenton with a game in hand. The top three teams in the North Division will receive a first round bye in the playoffs.

Zbynek Hrdel saw his point scoring streak snapped at three games. The Chiefs signed goaltender Billy Higgins as an emergency backup with the departure of Gerald Coleman via trade.

Morgan Cey stopped 19 of 20 shots faced for the win. Bryan Nathe, Ben Wallace and Gus Katsuras each had 2 assists for the Chiefs. Johnstown's goals came from Zbynek Hrdel (power play), Radek Smolenak, Dimitri Tarabrin and Jean Desrochers (shorthanded). Hrdel extended his point streak now to 3 games after going the previous 10 games without a point. Maxime Boisclair and Stanislav Lascek had individual helpers in the game. Smolenak, Hrdel and Nathe were named the game's three stars.

Word on the street is that there are some nefarious characters who are calling folks in Johnstown claiming to represent an organization called "Save the Chiefs". These scumbags, and from what I've read there's no more accurate name I can give to them, are attempting to extract people's personal information like credit card and Social Security numbers under the guise of a donation drive to try and keep the team in Johnstown. My understanding is that these jokers have no connection to the Chiefs or the Chiefs Booster Club. DO NOT give them any information. DO NOT even give them the time of day. If you're approached by these people, hang up promptly, take their number down off your caller ID and report them to the appropriate authorities.

I've never seen anything lower in my life than con artists who would actually prey on a minor league team's fanbase at a time when there's uncertainty about the club's future and I hope these dirtbags are found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.